SUNDERLAND 1 -- WOLVES 3: AT the 20th attempt Mick McCarthy finally won a Premier League clash at the Stadium of Light with a victory which enhanced, but did not ensure, Wolves’ top-flight safety.

Steven Fletcher gives Wolves the lead with a header against Sunderland []

McCarthy spent the best part of nine months in the top division at Sunderland without recording a single win, although he was at pains in his own robust way to point out that he was only given a fraction of what current boss Steve Bruce has had to spend.

McCarthy’s Stadium of Light record was on a par with our recent Eurovision Song Contest efforts, only this time he left Wearside anything but blue.

“I have no cause to come here and rub anyone’s nose in it because I had a wonderful time,” said Wolves boss McCarthy.

“I’ve been away for five years and I wasn’t aware of that record. I don’t bother with all that bull because everyone has a statistic, or an angle.

“I won loads of games here. I won the Championship and got to the Premier League without a pot to pee in, or a window to throw it out. But I loved it. I loved my time here and when I left, I went with my head held up.

I have no cause to come here and rub anyone’s nose in it because I had a wonderful time

Mick McCarthy

“There was a good feeling towards us because of me. I think most Sunderland people would say, ‘If we’re going to lose to anyone, it should be you’ because of the job I did here.

“I’ve just seen Niall Quinn. I think the quote was, ‘If any ugly so-and-so was going to beat us, I’m glad it was you.'”

Wolves remained above the bottom three courtesy of three crisp finishes, starting off with Jody Craddock, his first of the season, midway through the first half and against the run of play.

Jamie O’Hara hit the bar before woeful defending allowed Stephane Sessegnon to equalise. If the first half was all Sunderland, after the break Bruce’s side, as they have done so often lately, capitulated.

Matt Jarvis’s run and cross was headed home by Steven Fletcher – in doing so he became the first Wolves player since John Richards 30 years ago to hit double figures in the top flight – and George Elokobi wrapped up a second successive 3-1 win near the end with a powerful header.

Three points at home to Blackburn Rovers will ensure Wolves’ safety and former Sunderland defender Craddock acknowledges the job is still not done despite seven points from their last three matches.

“We are not going into the last game thinking we are safe,” said Craddock. “We know we are still going to have to get a win. It is just nice to have a couple of wins in the bag in the last two games.

“I don’t think we have been doing anything particularly different. If you look back over the season we have had some fantastic results, beating Manchester United and Chelsea, but it is just a tough division to get results. We are upping our game but the difficulty is, so is everyone else.

“The thing is, we have been down there in the bottom three all season. It is not a case of suddenly dropping down and beginning to panic. We have kept a level head and managed to keep it going. We are used to being there, so it hasn’t fazed us.

“The gaffer is the person we look to when we have been down in the dumps. When we have lost we have looked to him to try to get us out of it. His mood rubs off on us. He can come across as grumpy, but not to us.”

Grumpy? McCarthy? Never. As for Bruce, he cannot wait for the season to end. His bench was full of teenagers, with 11 first-team players injured.

“We can’t sustain a performance,” said Bruce. “But we have what we have and we cannot change anything.

“I am pleased for Mick because he is a good lad and it looks like he has kept them up. We outplayed them in the first half but we ran out of juice.

“Our energy levels have not been right and that is why we have conceded three goals in our last three home games.”